"We are on our ancestors's time" is how Melvin Collier summed up his inspiring webinar today. It has been 150 years since the beginning of freedom for all Americans. We are celebrating by hosting the Freedom Webinar Series. Today's webinar, the third in the series, was presented by author and researcher, Melvin J. Collier. Its recording is now available to view for free at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for a limited time. Some great comments:

Inspiring and moving! Filled with lots of great research strategies. Thank you!

Melvin Collier's webinar was as interesting as it was insightful. One of the over-arching messages was that your research is never done as long as you continue to THINK about your Ancestors and resolve to bring their story to life.

Melvin provided a wealth of information! This was an amazing, important webinar for those of us still seeking our enslaved ancestors.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 34 minute recording of "Mending Broken Ties: Reconstructing Family Trees Sawed by Slavery" is now available to view in our webinar library for free for a limited time. Or watch it at your convenience with an annual or monthly webinar membership.

150 Years Later is a unique story of DISCOVERY, TRIUMPH, and CELEBRATION. No other book unravels a historical mystery that led to an unprecedented family reunion. This book takes readers on a mouth-dropping quest that mended ties that were broken during slavery.

In 1859 near Abbeville, South Carolina, 12-year-old Bill Reed was forever separated from his family. His father was sold away, and his mother, grandmother, and other family members were all taken away from the state soon afterwards. Waving goodbye to them, young Bill would never lay eyes on them ever again. He left South Carolina in 1866, shortly after he was emancipated, and moved to northern Mississippi after he was told that Mississippi was the "land of milk and honey with fat pigs running around with apples in their mouths." He died near Senatobia in 1937, at the age of 91, never learning that his family had been within 75 miles away from him, also in northern Mississippi.

150 Years Later is a riveting story of discovery that chronicles Collier's relentless journey of unearthing his great-grandfather Bill's mysterious history, finding his family's whereabouts and their living descendants, and breaking down barriers to mend the broken ties in an emotional reunion in 2009 - 150 years later.

The involuntary break-up of families during slavery due to selling and other means was very common. However, the discovery of those lost branches and the reuniting of the descendants after 150 years is uncommon. This is what makes 150 Years Later very captivating and uplifting.

The recording of today's excellent webinar, "Storyboard Your Family History" by Lisa Alzo is now available to view for free at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for a limited time. Some great comments:

Can't wait to get started on my corkboard index cards! Thank you for a great Webinar!!

Favorite point: creating ancestor profiles or character sketches rather than attempting to "tell" the family history. Virtual cork board was also an inspirational aspect of Scrivner. Thanks for the program.

Excellent presentation and handout! Scrivener looks like a useful tool for those of us with "writer's block," and Lisa' presentation has inspired me to start writing a family history.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 35 minute recording of "Storyboard Your Family History" is now available to view in our webinar library for free for a limited time. Or watch it at your convenience with an annual or monthly webinar membership.

Scrivener by Literature and Latte is a popular combination word processor and project management tool that’s affordable and simple to use. This powerful application seamlessly takes you from idea to outline to finished product. Whether you want to start a blog, write a book, prepare a client report, or presentation, or publish a cookbook or society newsletter, Scrivener has you covered.

The Scrivener for Genealogists Quick Sheet gives you all of the basics you need to know to get up and running with Scrivener. Learn how to start a project, edit, and format your work, and get an overview of the key components of the Scrivener interface, and its four main modes – Outline, Document View, Corkboard, and Scrivenings. Use the listed Quick Command keys to access many of Scrivener’s main functions and project and interface shortcuts right from your keyboard. Additional resources and suggestions for online help are listed for those who wish to explore this program’s more advanced features. The Scrivener Quick .Sheet is available in both Mac and Windows versions and easily fits into a laptop bag or backpack.

All slaves had family members who were sold away or transferred to the slave-owners' heirs, never to be seen again. Many even took different surnames. It was not uncommon for two displaced brothers to retain different surnames after Emancipation. In this third webinar of our Freedom Webinar Series, author and researcher, Melvin Collier, will present cases of how displaced family members were found with his "Mending Broken Ties: Reconstructing Family Trees Sawed by Slavery."

Join us and Melvin Collier for the live webinar Wednesday, July 31, 2015 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion.

His books have been used by genealogical and historical scholars as great reference sources for genealogical methodologies.

Melvin is a former civil engineer in corporate America for nearly 10 years. His passion for African-American history and historical preservation led to a major and fulfilling career change in the Archivist profession. He is a former archivist at the Archives Research Center of the Robert W. Woodruff Library – Atlanta University Center, where he has worked on the Morehouse College Dr. Martin Luther King Papers, the Maynard Jackson Administrative Papers and Photographs, the Dr. Asa Hilliard III Papers, and other collections, 2006-2013. Currently employed by the federal government, Melvin has been conducting historical and genealogical research for over 20 years, starting at the age of 19. He has given numerous workshops and presentations on historical and genealogical subjects. He appeared on the NBC show, Who Do You Think You Are, as one of the expert genealogists on the Spike Lee episode (2010). Melvin maintains a genealogy blog, Roots Revealed, at www.rootsrevealed.com. He earned a Master of Arts degree in African-American Studies, Clark Atlanta University, in 2008, with additional graduate coursework in Archival Studies from Clayton State University, 2010-2012. He was the recipient of the 2012 Marsha M. Greenlee History Award by the National Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS).

Add it to your Google Calendar

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Learn how the Scrivener software, a multifaceted word processor and project management tool, can help you plot, organize, and write your family history narrative, prepare research reports, and much more. (Attendees are encouraged to download the free trial (PC or Mac) prior to webinar to maximize the learning experience).

Join us and Lisa Alzo for the live webinar Wednesday, July 29, 2015 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion.

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

About the presenter

Lisa A. Alzo. M.F.A. is a freelance writer, instructor, and internationally recognized lecturer, specializing in Slovak/Eastern European genealogical research, writing your family history, and using the Internet to trace female and immigrant ancestors. She is the author of nine books, including the award-winning Three Slovak Women, and hundreds of magazine articles, and writes the blog "The Accidental Genealogist."

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

The recording of today's excellent webinar, "Have Swedish Roots and Don't Know How to Get Started?" by Kathy Meade PLUS the after-webinar party is now available to view for free at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for a limited time. Some great comments:

Great info for a rank beginner at Swedish research ! Kathy sure knows her stuff!

I would rate this actually as a 10+. Kathy Mead was amazing, lots of tips, lots of links, and she was very knowledgeable!! I am looking forward to her next webinar in September!! I have just started on filling in more information on my Swedish ancestors and now I have lots of new ideas! Thank you Kathy Meade, excellent Webinar. Thank you Geoff and Legacy for providing wonderful Webinars!

Another wonderful Webinar and After Party. These are the best. Just renewed membership for year 3! Thanks for all you do.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 44 minute recording of "Have Swedish Roots and Don't Know How to Get Started?" PLUS the after-webinar party is now available to view in our webinar library for free for a limited time. Or watch it at your convenience with an annual or monthly webinar membership.

Learn how to trace your Swedish roots this Wednesday. This webinar, presented by Kathy Meade and hosted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars will cover naming patterns, Swedish spellings, and how to locate parishes. The presentation will provide an overview of emigration records, passenger lists, census records, and church records--and how to locate and use these valuable resources.

Join us and Kathy Meade for the live webinar Wednesday, July 22, 2015 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion.

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

About the presenter

Kathy Meade is the North American representative for ArkivDigital AD AB, a company that offers online access to newly photographed images of Swedish historical records. Kathy has spent more than ten years giving presentations, writing articles and helping persons with Swedish genealogy. She serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Nordic Family Genealogy Center at the Swedish American Museum in Chicago. Kathy spent seven years living and working in Sweden and Norway where she learned to read both languages.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

The recording of last Friday's members-only webinar, "Making a Federal Case Out of It" by Judy Russell is now available to view for our webinar subscribers at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com. Some great comments:

I am not sure I would have had the courage to tackle this level of research without the guidance of an experienced legal researcher like Judy Russell. Without downplaying the obstacles, she gave a clear path through the steps needed to open up what is clearly an area rich with genealogical information. So, heads in I go! Thanks, Judy.

I could listen to Judy every day of the week. I love her delivery, her knowledge, and her presentations. That today's webinar was "members only" is just one more reason to have a membership with Legacy...so worth it!!

I just love Judy Russell! She is such a wonderful presenter. Can't wait to hear her again, in fact, I'm going to listen to one of her old webinars now! (smile)

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 28 minute recording of "Making a Federal Case Out Of It" is now available to view in our webinar library. Watch it at your convenience with an annual or monthly webinar membership.

The recording of today's webinar, "Researching with Karen!" by Karen Clifford PLUS the after-webinar party is now available to view for free at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for a limited time. Some great comments:

Karen skilfully ties together all the resources that we learned about separately, but didn't think to use together. Another eye-opener!!

As usual, Karen was overflowing with good information. Not only is she helping several folks directly, she is training us all to be better genealogists. Thanks Karen and Geoff for another great lesson!

Especially Wonderful to see solving pre 1850 questions.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 51 minute recording of "Researching with Karen 2!" PLUS the after-webinar party is now available to view in our webinar library for free for a limited time. Or watch it at your convenience with an annual or monthly webinar membership.

Feeling stuck? Have a difficult genealogy research problem? It may be time for a professional to assist. Join educator, author, and researcher, Karen Clifford, as she answers your questions and demonstrates how she solves genealogy cases. Seeing how someone else approaches a genealogy mystery can give you new ideas to apply for your own hunt.

Join us and Karen Clifford for the live webinar Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion.

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

About the presenter

Karen Clifford develops and teaches multiple online genealogy courses at colleges inCalifornia and Utah. She is an Accredited Genealogist® Professional and a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association. She has been President/CEO of Genealogy Research Associates, Incorporated since 1997. Her years of professional research work lead to authoring college textbooks and do-it-yourself guidebooks covering both traditional and electronic genealogy research including several books: Becoming an Accredited Genealogist, The Complete Beginners Guide to Genealogy, the Internet, and Your Genealogy Computer Program (updated 2011), and Digging Deeper: Using Essential Pre-1850 Records (2011). She was the founding President of the Monterey County Genealogy Society, a Director of the Monterey California Family History Center, President of the Utah Genealogical Association, a Vice President of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and a Vice Chair of the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogist (ICAPGen) where she continues to oversee Test Development and Test Quality Control.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

The recording of last night's excellent webinar, "Pinning Your Family History," by Thomas MacEntee is now available to view for free at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for a limited time. Some great comments:

Awesome! I learned a new skill within the first 10 minutes!

Didn't know there were so many different sites. Google - My Maps is something I am going to try. Thanks, Thomas! Great webinar.

Good job explaining to the few of us who haven't used Pinterest and showing us the possibilities of various other resources.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 30 minute recording of "Pinning Your Family History" is now available to view in our webinar library for free for a limited time. Or watch it at your convenience with an annual or monthly webinar membership.